Round Lake to cut back bus service at 4 schools

District 116 hopes to save $50,000

Some Round Lake-area parents raised safety questions Wednesday about a cost-cutting plan that would eliminate bus service for 225 children, forcing many to walk more than a mile to school.

The plan, approved by the school board Tuesday, could save debt-laden Round Lake School District 116 up to $50,000 a year.

Currently, bus service is not provided for students who live within a mile of school. If the plan goes into effect next year, that boundary will extend to 1 1/2 miles.

Residents like Ben Cook, who works nights and picks up his son at Magee Middle School, said the changes could inconvenience working parents who cannot find alternative transportation and are reluctant to let their children walk home.

According to state rules, public school districts must provide transportation for students who live more than 1 1/2 miles from school, said Gary Ey, deputy superintendent for finance at the state Board of Education.

The state reimburses 80 percent of the cost for busing students who live more than 1 1/2 miles from school.

In cases where even short walks pose too many safety risks--dangerous intersections, for instance--the state will reimburse transportation costs, Ey said.

Tiani said the plan will affect Magee pupils who live in the Parkview subdivision and Murphy pupils who live east of Cedar Lake Road and south of Washington Street.

Beach pupils living south of Rollins Road and Village pupils west of Cedar Lake Road and east of Fairfield Road also will lose bus service.

"A mile-and-a-half is a long way for a child to walk," said Beth Burton, whose daughter, an 8th grader at Magee, already walks eight blocks. "I don't think they should make kids walk this far on a daily basis."

School officials said they plan to meet with neighboring village officials and police departments to notify them of the changes and ask for more crossing guards and safety assistance.